Joseph Dixon Saddlers Clamp

[Invasion]

Has anyone got one of these and if so opinions on it please. I was thinking of getting one as this company seems to be much better quality than the normal suppliers in England

Thanks

Edited April 28, 2013 by Invasion

[Jax]

Where are you based invasion?

[Invasion]

Where are you based invasion?

Hi I am in UK about 18 miles from Cambridge itself

[Jax]

Thanks Invasion was wondering if you were near to Walsall but I see youre not.

[Invasion]

Thanks Invasion was wondering if you were near to Walsall but I see youre not.

Any reason ?

I phoned joesph Dixon today and they are out of stock of the saddlers clamp so I've got a cheap one from From tandy to use in the meantime.

[Jax]

Yeah I was gonna try & tell you where I got mine from, (could be where Dixons get them from) not sure if the company is still there & I dont know the address, but I do know where it is/was, but you have a long way to come so I guess thats not an option.

[Invasion]

Yeah I was gonna try & tell you where I got mine from, (could be where Dixons get them from) not sure if the company is still there & I dont know the address, but I do know where it is/was, but you have a long way to come so I guess thats not an option.

Thanks for thought really appreciated

Shame I am not closer I had a look on the Abbey site, they don't seem to have any? Not that impressed with the tandy one. I have added some leather so it doesn't mark my work but I really don't like it!

Thanks again

[Jax]

I always line the jaws of my clamps with either leather or a rubber ( I cut rubber rein grips up) Have a look on ebay there has been a few sets of clamps on recently

[celticleather]

Have another look on the Abbey site . . . http://www.abbeyengland.com/Store/tabid/77/productid/74749/Language/en-GB/Default.aspx?txtSearch=saddlers+clams

These are priced at £63.00 (plus VAT & postage).

[Invasion]

Have another look on the Abbey site . . . http://www.abbeyengland.com/Store/tabid/77/productid/74749/Language/en-GB/Default.aspx?txtSearch=saddlers+clams

These are priced at £63.00 (plus VAT & postage).

Ahh ok thanks for that

How do you hold these things while working ? I take it this is like a long stick with curved clam shape jaws ?

[Jax]

I found these on ebay, hope it is of some use to you

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leathercraft-Lacing-Sewing-Clamp-for-Stitching-Leather-/261208429471?pt=UK_Crafts_Leathercraft_LE&hash=item3cd13c539f

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/leather-working-stitching-clamp-saddlers-clamp-/230972103530?pt=UK_Crafts_Leathercraft_LE&hash=item35c7029b6a

I hold mine between my knees, some have them attached to the work bench.

[Basically Bob]

I recently purchased one of Abbey's and am very happy with it. Covered the jaws and base with leather and cut it to bring it to a comfortable level while using it in a straight up and down position. I also sewed-up a leather loop to loosen and tighten the jaws. I really do like working with this much better than the stitching pony I was using.

[celticleather]

How do you hold these things while working ? I take it this is like a long stick with curved clam shape jaws ?

Traditionally, saddler's clams are used in a sitting position. For a right-handed person, the clam would be rested on the left thigh, with the right leg over the lower end of the clam (see picture 1). Some folk like to add the strap and stirrup (see picture 2), which allows a greater pressure to be applied to the jaws of the clam by pressing down with the left foot.

I prefer to work standing up, so I fasten the clam to my bench with a quick-release strap. As mentioned above, it is important to line the jaws of the clamp with soft leather, to avoid marking the piece that is being sewn.

[Fowlingpiece]

The above is one manner of holding that I think is more continental in origin. (See Diderot's Encyclopedia)

Traditionally it depended on from which shop you learned from and from whom they learned technique from. I was taught to use the clams held vertically. I make my own clams to be self sprung. Most of the time, their own pressure and a slight bit from my legs is all that is needed to secure the job.

[Invasion]

I found these on ebay, hope it is of some use to you

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Leathercraft-Lacing-Sewing-Clamp-for-Stitching-Leather-/261208429471?pt=UK_Crafts_Leathercraft_LE&hash=item3cd13c539f

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/leather-working-stitching-clamp-saddlers-clamp-/230972103530?pt=UK_Crafts_Leathercraft_LE&hash=item35c7029b6a

I hold mine between my knees, some have them attached to the work bench.

Ahh thanks for those really nice of you to find them for me...sorry for that late reply I missed your post!

I recently purchased one of Abbey's and am very happy with it. Covered the jaws and base with leather and cut it to bring it to a comfortable level while using it in a straight up and down position. I also sewed-up a leather loop to loosen and tighten the jaws. I really do like working with this much better than the stitching pony I was using.

That's interesting that you like it much better than the stiching pony; any particular reason? I like the idea of the leather strap mod you did

Traditionally, saddler's clams are used in a sitting position. For a right-handed person, the clam would be rested on the left thigh, with the right leg over the lower end of the clam (see picture 1). Some folk like to add the strap and stirrup (see picture 2), which allows a greater pressure to be applied to the jaws of the clam by pressing down with the left foot.

I prefer to work standing up, so I fasten the clam to my bench with a quick-release strap. As mentioned above, it is important to line the jaws of the clamp with soft leather, to avoid marking the piece that is being sewn.

Thanks for the info really appreciated. What is a quick-release strap ? ( I think that is going to be a silly question)

The above is one manner of holding that I think is more continental in origin. (See Diderot's Encyclopedia)

Traditionally it depended on from which shop you learned from and from whom they learned technique from. I was taught to use the clams held vertically. I make my own clams to be self sprung. Most of the time, their own pressure and a slight bit from my legs is all that is needed to secure the job.

I guess it is a matter of trying and seeing what suits best. Thanks for the info

[Basically Bob]

That's interesting that you like it much better than the stiching pony; any particular reason? I like the idea of the leather strap mod you did

Invasion, There are a few reasons: the curved jaws and sides allow for a larger object to be held easier without bending it as severely, the angle of the clam can be varied while you are working because you are not sitting on it and I really like the leather loop that I made for tightening the jaws instead of a bolt/wing nut (thread will not get hung up on it). Bear in mind that this is my personal preference only. Edited May 3, 2013 by Basically Bob

[Invasion]

Invasion, There are a few reasons: the curved jaws and sides allow for a larger object to be held easier without bending it as severely, the angle of the clam can be varied while you are working because you are not sitting on it and I really like the leather loop that I made for tightening the jaws instead of a bolt/wing nut (thread will not get hung up on it). Bear in mind that this is my personal preference only.

The wing nut on my tandy one drives me spare as you say thread gets caught up all the time.

I do like the fact that you sit on it to hold it in place; but then I may find like you I prefer the clam!

Have you got a picture of how you attached loop that you made ?

Edited May 3, 2013 by Invasion

[Basically Bob]

Sure, I can do that. Will be in a couple of days, however.

[Basically Bob]

This photo shows the stitching pony I was using and my recently purchased stitching clam with the leather and loop that I added on my own. This photo is a close up shot of the leather loop that I made. It simply slides up and down on the clam to tighten or loosen the jaws. I really like this method and take no credit for it whatsoever. . To make the loop, I just cut a strap off of a piece of scrap bridle leather I had, cut it to what I thought would be a good length, glued and stitched it together. Nothing fancy, for sure but it sure does work for me. Hope this helps.Bob (sorry for the "screwy" positioning of the photos - haven't quite got all this tech stuff down yet)

Edited May 4, 2013 by Basically Bob

[Invasion]

This photo shows the stitching pony I was using and my recently purchased stitching clam with the leather and loop that I added on my own. This photo is a close up shot of the leather loop that I made. It simply slides up and down on the clam to tighten or loosen the jaws. I really like this method and take no credit for it whatsoever. . To make the loop, I just cut a strap off of a piece of scrap bridle leather I had, cut it to what I thought would be a good length, glued and stitched it together. Nothing fancy, for sure but it sure does work for me. Hope this helps.Bob (sorry for the "screwy" positioning of the photos - haven't quite got all this tech stuff down yet)

Thanks for those pics really appreciated. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words

That's the stiching pony I have. I am deffinaltley getting the stiching clam makes the stiching pony look like a toy. The loop idea is brilliant, so simple and does the job!

Thanks again for taking the time to post the pictures really appreciated

[Hennessy]

once in me younger days back in australia i made some clamps from wooden barrel staves, they worked orright too..not much work getting them up to workin status just a li'l imagination eh !

[MMArmoury]

Here is the clamp I bought a few weeks ago. I found it in an antique shop. My best guess is that it was maybe used for repairing machine driving belts in the old mills around here as it resembles a similar clamp shown in R.A. Salaman's Dictionary of Leatherworking Tools. I used it for the first time yesterday at an event.

Edited May 13, 2013 by MMArmoury

[Invasion]

Well it has been some time since this post was created. I have finally got myself a clam, from Abbey England -had a long break due to really bad health problems- I haven't had a chance to use it yet; but it seems too long. The other problem is it is really hard to pull apart to insert my work...I must be doing something wrong ???

any ideas ???

[Basically Bob]

Mine was too long for me, also. To solve this issue, I measured from the ground to the height that suited me, disassembled the clam and cut each of the wooden jaws off at the bottom at the appropriate spot.

The jaws are rather tight so I just loosened off the bolt at the bottom as much as I could. I have developed a way of spreading the jaws with one hand, from the inside of the clam.

Bob

[Avgvstvs]

Bob, do you remember what shipping cost you when you got your clam from abbey?